


Truth or (most likely) Dare?

by nocturnaofspace



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Camping, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Truth or Dare, basically they go camping, kal is not impressed, yay sleepover things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-06-09 05:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15260523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturnaofspace/pseuds/nocturnaofspace
Summary: " “I am here on guard duty! I know you both got me assigned to this.” Kaladin’s dark eyes looked indignant, he did not uncross his arms. It was true though, Shallan and Adolin had been running around behind his back for a week now, though it wasn’t until he got called into a meeting with Dalinar that he had learned about the camping trip. There were so many things he could be doing right now, important things, Captain things. Instead, he was stuck in the wilderness because his two best friends decided that they could all use a vacation."





	1. Chapter 1

“Stormfather,” Kaladin cursed. “Remind me how you got me to agree to this again?” 

“Kaladin, Kaladin, Kaladin,” Shallan tisked sweeping her long hair over her shoulders. “Are you questioning my powers of persuasion?”

“Yes, yes I am!” Kaladin crossed his arms in an all too serious manner. 

“Storms Kal, it’s just a camping trip. If it makes you feel better you can just pretend you’re here as guard duty?” Adolin Kholin rolled his eyes at his friend. He was already in his sleeping clothes (he brought separate clothes to sleep in for some reason), curled up in his role of blankets like a little fluffy ball of dust. 

“I am here on guard duty! I know you both got me assigned to this.” Kaladin’s dark eyes looked indignant, he did not uncross his arms. It was true though, Shallan and Adolin had been running around behind his back for a week now, though it wasn’t until he got called into a meeting with Dalinar that he had learned about the camping trip. There were so many things he could be doing right now, important things, Captain things. Instead, he was stuck in the wilderness because his two best friends decided that they could all use a vacation. 

“Whatever you say Bridgeboy.” Adolin smiled smugly and Kaladin felt as if he could punch his friend out of annoyance. He didn’t, but he still didn’t like how the princeling could get under his skin so easily. Kal turned his attention to Shallan. 

Shallan was busy poking the fire with a stick, so sparks flew up into the air and the wood crackled and popped. Her hair was glowing in the firelight. Storms, she looked beautiful… he quickly cleared the thought from his mind shaking his head for good measure. 

She raised her eyes from the fire with an almost mischievous air. “You know what we could do?” 

“What!” the two boys responded in unison. A blush grew on Kaladin’s cheeks but he hid it with his long hair. 

“Play truth or dare!” Shallan seemed all too eager for this. 

Adolin perked up, “that’d be really fun.”

“We might even get Kaladin to lighten up!” 

“Yeah, he’s been a bit of a drag today.”

“You both know I’m right here, right.” Kal eyed both his friends suspiciously. “What is truth or dare?” 

Adolin’s eyes went wide and one of his hands went to tangle in his black streaked blond locks. “You’ve never played before?” 

Kaladin shook his head. 

“It’s pretty easy.” Shallan took the initiative to explain. “One of us starts as a questioner asking another person if they want to tell a truth or do a dare. Then the questioner gets to present a question or a dare, depending on the other person's answer. And the questioned person has to answer the question truthfully, or complete the dare.” She paused before adding, “you get one out, meaning you can opt out of one of the truths or dares, no questions asked.” 

“I don’t like the sound of this game.” 

“That’s kind of the point,” Shallan said pointedly. She then reached out and stole one of Adolin’s blankets. 

“Hey!” Adolin, for his part, looked very offended. 

“Darling, I am your betrothed, if I can’t steal blankets from you then what’s the point?” Shallan rolled her eyes as she wrapped it around herself. 

“I don’t know….?” 

“Adolin, dear, the question was rhetorical.” The blond blushed at Shallan’s comment. 

Kaladin actually smiled, raising his hand to cover his face. 

“I SAW THAT! DID YOU SEE THAT!” Adolin turned to Shallan, the look on his face incredulous. “IT’S ACTUALLY POSSIBLE! YOU KNOW HOW MANY SPHERES I JUST WON!” 

Kaladin dropped back to his resting bitch face. “If you’re going to be that loud then we may as well string you up as White Spine bate.” The sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on Shallan, who fell back laughing.

Adolin glared daggers at Kaladin, “aren’t we supposed to play a game?” He inquired almost nonchalantly. Then he smiled, sending Kaladin a wink. 

“I’m still not participating.”

“Well we want to play and that’s two against one, so we win and you have to play.” Shallan looked at him with her big blue eyes. “Please?” 

“Storms,” Kaladin cursed under his breath. He looked up to where Syl was flying, a ribbon of light. Storms, he would never hear the end of this. “Fine…” 

Shallan broke into a big smile, “alright let's start!” She turned to Adolin, “truth or dare?” 

The blond flashed a dazzling smile in her direction. “Dare.” 

“I dare you to... “ Shallan paused as she thought, moving a finger to her lips. “Uh catch a tree before it goes back into its burrow and give it a hug.”

Adolin made a face but got up. He was wearing a relatively simple set of sleeping clothes. Just a longish shirt and a slightly baggy pair of pants, they were, however, monogrammed with the Kholin glyph pair. He tried to sneak up on a tree and lunge at it but it slipped out of his grasp. 

Shallan giggled and took the opportunity to steal another blanket from the blond’s pile.

Kaladin just looked at the fire solemnly as his friend tried desperately to catch a tree around their camp. He noticed Sil had come down from the sky. She had taken the form of a young woman and was sitting on one of the packs not far away. She was completely captivated by what Adolin was doing. 

He finally caught one, throwing his weight into the hug before it slipped out from under him. The usually graceful Kholin Prince tripped and nearly fell into a patch of wet crem before catching himself at the last moment. 

Syl laughed from her perch. Kaladin stayed silent, poking the fire with a stick. 

“Nice catch,” Shallan pushed her red hair out of her face, smirking. 

“Guess it’s my turn now… HEY!! Did you take another blanket?” Adolin glared at Shallan. 

She just shrugged, “I guess we’ll never know.” She pulled the blanket in question up around her shoulders. 

“Kal, truth or dare?” Adolin’s blue eyes flashed in Kaladin’s direction. 

“Dare.” 

“Steal my blanket back from Shallan.” 

Kaladin looked up and made a face. “Do it yourself.” 

“Does that mean you’re using your out?” Shallan asked, smile plastered on her freckled face. 

At that Kaladin stood up walked over to her and pulled the blanket away. There was no telling what the redhead was coming up with. 

“Hey!” For her part, Shallan looked very indignant despite her earlier filching. Kaladin folded the blanket neatly and sat back down keeping it in his lap. 

“Part of the dare was for you to give it back to me,” Adolin said when he realized there was no blanket coming his way. 

Kal raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly towards the other man. “I don’t recall you stating that earlier.” 

Shallan smirked, so did Syl (who was being oddly silent through all of this). 

“Ok, it’s your turn now. Who you gonna ask.” Shallan looked to the black-haired man expectantly. 

“Uh….” He hadn’t thought this far ahead. Best to just keep going in a circle then. “Shallan.” Kaladin looked towards the young woman. 

“Dare, since it seems to be a trend.” She looked flippantly back at him. 

Syl decided now was the best time to make herself known. She flew down beside Kal, still in her form as a young woman. “Kaladin, if you need any help with this I have quite a few ideas.” 

Kaladin blushed slightly but regained his composure quickly. “Taste the curry powder in the spice box.” He was pretty proud of coming up with that one. Sil facepalmed. 

Shallan shrugged her shoulders and got up, pushing off the ground with her free hand (safe hand tucked away, as always, in her Havah). Moving to the pack containing food, she rummaged for a bit before finding the red powder. She then took a small pinch and put it into her mouth. Her face turned red, and she rushed for the water. 

“That was pretty terrible,” Adolin chuckled a bit before passing her his bottle, which she gratefully accepted. 

Suddenly Shallan sputtered, coughing. Adolin cracked another wide smile, and Kal jumped up to help her. Before he could get to her, she regained the power of speech. “You could have warned me it wasn’t water!” 

Adolin was trying to stifle his laughter unsuccessfully. 

“What was it?” Asked Kal, very confused. He connected the dots as Adolin answered. 

“Violet wine.” The blond turned to his fiance, “that was way to easy. You ok?”

Shallan rolled her eyes before downing the rest of the bottle's contents. “I’m fine,” she glared daggers at Adolin, but there was a slight upward turn to her lips as she passed the bottle back. 

Kaladin was stupefied for a second before shaking himself slightly and sitting back down. There were some questions left better unanswered. 

“Kal, truth or dare?” Shallan asked from across the fire. 

“Dare,” he said, unenthused. 

“Imitate a chicken.” 

“You can’t be serious.” 

Shallan looked back at him, her eyes were dead serious. 

“This is going to be fantastic!” Adolin was sitting up straight eyes wide. 

“I’m using my out. I’m not doing that.” Kaladin glared back at Shallan. 

Adolin pouted a little. 

Shallan smiled mischievously.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long. I just started school and I'm really feeling the pressure. I really hope you enjoy the next instalment.

“Ok then, I get another go.” Shallan was still smiling. 

Syl was cackling right in Kaladin’s ear at this point. He shot a glare at her, which caused the Honour Spren to fall backwards, thumping ever so softly on the ground with laughter. This, in turn, caused Kaladin to smirk slightly. 

“Kaladin,” his head snapped up to look at Shallan. “Truth or dare?” She was the one smirking now.

“That’s not how this works, you can’t just ask me again!” 

“I thought you’d never played this game before,” Adolin asked. “How could you know?” 

Syl flited up to Kaladin’s ear, “he does have a point you know. You don’t know the rules.” 

Kal sighed, “truth I guess.” 

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” Shallan looked at him pointedly. 

Adolin perked up. “This is going to be good,” he whispered under his breath. 

Kal looked Shallan straight in the face, right into her beautiful blue eyes. “I’m not answering that.”

“That’s the whole point of the game, you have to answer. You already used your out.” Adolin was smiling.

“Fine Adolin! If you want to play that way then how many suits do you own!” 

“You’re avoiding the question Kal,” Adolin sniggered. 

Kaladin blushed furiously. “I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“I wonder what she was like?” Shallan turned to Adolin, stars in her eyes. “Maybe she was a light eyes! Now that would be interesting.”

“Scandalous even,” Adolin smirked. 

Syl sat on Kaladin’s shoulder. “You have to answer, you promised.” She gave him a look. He knew how she felt about keeping promises. 

Kal took a deep breath and finally spoke. “She was dark-eyed.” It was almost a whisper. 

The other two turned to him, shocked. 

“I didn’t actually think you’d answer…” Shallan started before Kal cut her off. 

“When I was in Amaram’s army. Her name was Tarah. She left me. I don’t know where she is now.” He looked down, hair falling in his face. 

The camp was silent, save for the fire crackling slightly. The light danced with an excitement that had seemingly drained from everyone else. 

Syl spoke first, floating up and leaning into Kal’s ear. “It's your turn now. Ask the question! Pick someone!” It was a harsh whisper, the kind she was not unknown for. 

He took a minute before deciding she was right, there was no better way to stop thinking about Tarah then to move forward with this game. It was curious how integral Syl could be to a conversation she wasn't even a part of.

“Adolin.” 

“Yes,” the blond looked up, the surprise flashing in his blue eyes was not lost on Kaladin. 

“Truth or dare?” The words felt strange coming out of Kaladin's mouth, almost like he wasn't the one speaking them. 

Adolin smiled broadly, “truth.”

Shallan perked up a bit, eager to learn more about her betrothed, but also flabbergasted that Kal of all people had restarted the game. 

“So how many suits do you own?” Kal asked, smirking slightly. 

“Not sure…” The other man started, tapping his chin in mock contemplation. “Upwards of 200, I think. Not that I ever get to wear them.” 

Both Kaladin and Shallan’s jaws hit the floor. Syl was just started laughing. 

“Most of them are back in Kholinar,” he spoke as if to legitimize the exorbitant amount of formal wear. 

Shallan reached over and patted Adolin on the back consolingly. Kal silently thought it was strange to see the other man self-conscious. He was always so happy.

Adolin did seem to perk up at Shallan’s affections. Then he turned pensive, thinking about his next move. It was true that he and Shallan had a purpose in dragging Kaladin all the way out into the wilderness, but he felt it was too early to play their hand. He could tell from Shallan’s body language that she felt the same way. It was too soon. 

“Shallan, truth or dare?” Adolin said, resting his head on her shoulder. 

Kal was starting to feel like a third wheel. Maybe he should leave these two alone… he was just here as a bodyguard, right? (Not that Shallan, a fellow Knight Radiant, couldn’t protect herself). 

“I’m still gonna go with dare,” She said, kissing Adolin’s cheek. She liked this, this was more public affection then she’d ever been able to show the man she was to marry. Maybe they should go camping more often. 

Adolin thought for a moment, hand moving through his poofy black streaked hair before he got an idea. A two chickens with one stone idea. “I dare you to show us your sketchbook.” 

Shallan didn’t look too perturbed by this, pulling her sketchbook out and opening it to a drawing she was comfortable showing the two boys. “Not that much of a dare, dear.” She stated. 

“Really?” Adolin said with a smile. “And how many pictures of Kal are there in this one?” He teased. Of course, he knew about the portraits, she’d told him about them. 

Shallan blushed, snapping the book closed, pulling it out of the other’s reach.

Kaladin perked up at the sound of his name but was utterly confused as to why Shallan would have any drawings of him. If she was going to draw anyone wouldn’t it be Adolin?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss communications get worse.... ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I've been gone forever.... but I'm back finally. Stuff just hasn't been going well recently, but I'm gonna try to post more regularly now. For a sense of consistency that I've been lacking for several months.

“I’m not showing him!” Shallan pulled her sketchbook back from Adolin’s snatching hands. Her loose red hair flew in her face as she pulled back. 

Despite himself, Kaladin was becoming interested. What was she so afraid of? She was fine showing one of the pictures but not the others? He’d seen some of Shallan’s drawings before, they were quite good. Syl had even flown over to peek behind Shallan’s shoulders at the closed book. Adolin’s voice brought Kal back to reality. 

“Are you using your out then?” Adolin was smirking, hands still clutching at the sketchbook with strong fingers. 

Shallan grew red in the face, not a difficult feat for someone of her skin tone. “I…” She ducked her head, deciding. Was it better to show and keep her out for later? Or was this the worst thing that Adolin and Kaladin could come up with? Eventually, she nodded her head slowly. She was using her out. 

“Ok then,” Adolin looked quite chipper. He realised the book sending his fiancee toppling back. He jumped up in worry, “are you alright?” 

“I’m fine…” She glared up at him. 

Adolin smiled and sat back down. 

They were such an odd couple, at least Kaladin thought so. Teasing each other, going on impromptu camping trips…. Dragging him along to chaperone. Kal didn’t like this downtime, it made him think way to much, it was better to be busy and not have the time to overthink things. 

“Kaladin.” 

He looked up. To find Adolin talking to him. Kal raised one eyebrow in question before Adolin spoke. “Truth or dare bridge boy?” 

Kaladin thought about it before deciding, it felt like there was something going on here. Kal didn’t like this something. “Truth?” He said, still unsure of his answer. 

Adolin smiled, “do you like Shallan?” 

Kal’s face flushed red. “No! Definitely not!” He looked between the two of them. Did she tell him about the Chasms? Was he angry? What was going on here?! 

“Be honest.” Adolin smiled and gave him a pointed look. 

Kal had the sinking feeling that this had all been a setup. He looked over at Shallan who had hidden her face behind her safehand sleeve. Great… looks like he wouldn’t be getting any help from her. 

Syl landed on his shoulder in the form of a young woman. She looked at him with a look that he knew stated, ‘you agreed to this. You promised them you would tell the truth.’ 

Kaladin ran his fingers through his long hair trying to find a way of getting around the question. It wasn’t working. Seriously, he would rather be on a battlefield fighting for his life then here right now. Finally, he took a deep breath and started. “I…” 

Shallan looked up, her brilliant blue eyes shone at him. Suddenly he felt breathless. She was beautiful. Without thinking he spoke, “yes.” His eyes dark and soft. 

Adolin sat, stunned. Not by the confession, he and Shallan had highly suspected that answer. No, he was stunned with how fast they’d been able to get it out of him. The bridge boy hadn’t pulled away, like a plant hiding from a Highstorm like he had expected. Even as Adolin looked at him, the other man seemed to realize he had spoken out loud. 

Kal’s face dropped, his eyes wide in realization. How did this happen? His heart was thumping so loud that he was sure anyone within a mile could hear it. He looked to Shallan to see her reaction. She was smiling. He looked down before he realized: she was SMILING!? 

“See, I told you.” She had turned to Adolin, who was also smiling for some reason. “You owe me.” 

“Fine…” Adolin reached into his bag and pulled out a few spheres and then passed them to Shallan. She quickly absorbed the stormlight and passed it back to him.

Kal was so confused he didn’t even know where to start. “Storm it! What is going on here?!” He looked to the other two with an expression that was part anger, part embarrassment, and part complete confusion. He wasn’t good at this. He shouldn’t have come here. Storms why was he here? Guard duty… right… wait, did they really need three shard bearers on this trip? 

Suddenly he felt something touch his hand. It pulls him out of his head almost immediately, snatching his hand back and reaching for a weapon that wasn’t beside him. Kaladin turned with fierce eyes but was surprised when he saw Shallan, her free hand still where his used to be. 

“We understand if this is too much.” Her voice was softer than he had ever heard it before. 

“What is going on here?!” This had to be a test of some kind. She and Adolin were getting married for Storm’s sake! There was nothing for it. This all made no sense. It didn’t seem like Syl had any ideas. She was flitting around over his head as a ribbon of light. Kal was on his own with this one. 

“You really are dense aren’t you,” Adolin was laughing, blue eyes flickering in the firelight.

“Adolin!” Shallan whipped around so fast her loose hair flew in her face. 

Kaladin still had no idea what was going on here. “Fine, I’m not playing your game anymore. This is obviously about something else, and if the two of you won’t tell me then I’m just going to go to sleep.” He could see Syl pouting, but at this point, he really didn’t care anymore.

He settled down, using his bag as a pillow and covered himself with the blanket he stole from Adolin. It was actually kinda nice. Adolin did like his fluffy blankets. There wasn’t a High Storm planned for tonight. They all planned to sleep around the fire, under the stars. 

“Kaladin?” He felt a hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it off not knowing whose it was.

“I’m not talking to you right now.” Dumb lighteyes and their stupid scheming. He was done, just done with this.

The other person moved away. There was a rustle of blankets on the other side of the campfire. Yup, he was just the weird third wheel here. Just an excuse for those two to spend time together with, what they hoped to be, a lax chaperone. It was all so obvious to him. It hurt more than he cared to admit.

Sleep found him eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man this was supposed to be 3 chapters only.... but it keeps getting longer and longer......................

There was movement in the night. A shift, a rustling on the rocks. The sound of plants going back into their burrows. A set of dark eyes snapped open, ears listening to the sounds. Kaladin could only just see the smoldering fire over the blanket he’d pulled over his head. All was still again. Maybe it was just a cremling. Just then something touched his arm. Quick as lightning he turned, ready to get up, ready to summon Syl as a spear, ready to defend the two idiots who had obviously fallen asleep on watch duty and forgotten to wake him. 

It was Shallan. Even in the dim light he could see the brilliant orange of her hair. His breath caught in his throat. 

“It’s your turn to watch.” She was startled by his sudden movement. 

“Oh, ok.” Kaladin relaxed feeling somewhat badly for his earlier thoughts. He pushed himself up looking around at the campsite. He could tell it was almost dawn. Surly his turn to watch had been hours ago. Why was she only now waking him? 

“Can I sit with you,” Shallan rubbed at her sleepy eyes yawning. Storms, she looked tired. Had she slept at all? 

“Sure,” was the only thing he could think to say. Looking around a bit more closely he saw the lump of blankets that was probably Adolin. 

She sat. “I’m sorry for last night,” She stared into the embers of the fire. “We just didn’t know how to start.” 

“That’s ok…. We?” Kal was baffled. “If you’re going to start this again….” 

“I’m not,” She promised turning to him. “We just wanted to know if you would be interested.” 

“Interested in what,” He stared at her blankly. 

“In us.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, voice quiet, barely a whisper in the darkness. She turned away again.

The words didn’t register right away. Kal felt the slightest amount of pressure on his shoulder indicating Syl had just landed there. Usually she always had something to say, but now she was completely silent. By the time he understood what Shallan had said she was standing. 

“Please just promise me you’ll think about it. It’s ok if you don’t want to. You mean so much to both of us Kaladin, we don’t want to lose you as a friend.” 

Suddenly all the weird behaviour made sense. How Shallan and Adolin had been acting for weeks finally struck him. How they’d been hanging around him more frequently, that he’d seen them whisper in corners when they thought he wasn’t looking. He’d thought that they had just been sent to be around him, that their whispering had been stupid couple things like their wedding or something. It left him dumbstruck. 

Shallan smiled and moved back to her spot beside Adolin across the fire pit. “You look cold, you can come over here if you’re cold.” She yawned again before curling up, closing her blue eyes in the process. 

Kaladin watched her still trying desperately to form words or thoughts about his current situation. “Syl… what in damnation just happened?” His voice low so the spren was the only one to hear. He turned to look at her on his shoulder. 

“Even I didn’t expect that.” Her eyes looked wide almost like Shin eyes in her surprised state.

Kal shook himself a bit before looking at the spren with skepticism. “What were you expecting? You seemed pretty into their little game.” 

Syl flew up right in front of his face, taking the form of a young woman with a long flowing havah that faded out at the hem. “I just thought they were playing. Getting you to have some fun for once.” She placed her hands on her hips, “Now what are you going to do about this situation. What do you want to do” 

“Well obviously it’s insane. There’s no way, I’ve never even heard of anything like this… Shallan is, but I’ve never thought of Adolin that way.” 

“Be honest Kaladin.” Syl flew right up to his face, staring him directly in the eyes (or eye more accurately). 

“I don’t know what you mean.” He was being honest, wasn’t he?

Syl raised one small blue eyebrow. She always knew things about him even if he didn’t. 

He didn’t think about Adolin. No definitely not. Syl was super off base here, her intuition had to be off. Kal didn’t even look forward to seeing him. Kal thought, he didn’t did he? 

“Well, what do you want?” Syl said, her tone suddenly soft. “You fell asleep so quickly even when you were upset.”

It was true, he hadn't thought of that. Even around Bridge 4 he couldn’t fall asleep for hours, and those were his best friends. Around the two light eyes though, he felt safe, calm. Probably why he went along with their stupid game to begin with… and it wasn’t just Shallan. He thought about the time in the arena, watching Adolin face down four shardbearers, how the breath had caught in his throat, how he’d been afraid, how he’d jumped in to help not just because it was right but because he couldn’t bear the thought of the man getting hurt. Not while he could do something about it. Kal had dismissed those thoughts, he was guarding the Kholin’s, obviously he just wanted to do his job… right? 

“Storms,” Kaladin swore eyes wide. “How long have you known about this?” He looked accusing at Syl, long dark hair flying in his face. 

Syl just smiled at him. “Remember when you first met him?” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“I thought you would figure it out yourself, obviously I was wrong. You needed more prompting.” 

“So you were in on this. Now who’s being dishonest?” 

“I actually wasn’t. Those two came up with this on their own.” The small spren looked indignantly towards him. “I’m not going to fight with you about this so I will reiterate. What do you want?” 

“We can’t all be together.” He picked up a stick, scratching at the ground absently. 

“Why not?” 

“Because we can’t. It won’t be accepted. It’s not…” Kal couldn’t finish. It’s not right… but the thought of it felt right to him. Strange, but right. 

“What do you want?” Syl stated again.


End file.
